1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a draining laboratory drying rack system which provides a versatile apparatus used for holding wet laboratory equipment and draining the moisture therefrom.
2. Description of Related Art
In chemical laboratories, medical testing centers and other facilities wherein glassware and other laboratory equipment is frequently used, drain boards or racks are utilized for holding the wet glassware and equipment to air dry after washing. Conventional drain boards have been made of soapstone which is impervious to chemicals. The soapstone drain boards include apertures drilled therethrough for mounting wooden or plastic pegs with adhesive.
An alternative to the conventional soapstone drain board is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,392, issued Dec. 18, 1973 to Betts, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,912,212, issued Oct. 14, 1975 to Betts, Sr., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,929, issued Dec. 4, 1984 to Betts, Sr. Each of the Betts, Sr. patents disclose a lightweight laboratory drain board formed from sheet material with pegs extending from the board to support laboratory equipment thereon. The laboratory drain boards or panels can be wall mounted or freestanding. Pegs are selectively received in apertures of the board. In the Betts, Sr. '392 patent the pegs are secured to the board by slip nuts. The pegs of the Betts, Sr. '212 and Betts, Sr. '929 patents are provided with an enlarged head having a smaller neck portion which is inserted through the aperture and subsequently slide downward into place to thereby lock the peg onto the drain board. In the Betts, Sr. '212 patent, T-shaped pegs are used in T-shaped apertures and in Betts, Sr. '929 patent, triangular-shaped pegs are mounted in triangular-shaped apertures.
Laboratory draining rack systems such as those disclosed in the various Betts, Sr. patents discussed above are widely used in medical testing and research facilities. Several of these facilities are conducting research and tests on highly contagious and deadly viruses, such as the HIV virus which is the cause of Acquired Immune Disease Syndrome (AIDS). Not surprisingly, the laboratory workers which are exposed to such viruses on a daily basis are extremely cautious in cleaning the laboratory and laboratory equipment. For example, when cleaning a laboratory draining rack such as the Betts, Sr. drying racks described above, the draining rack is typically subjected to a spray of a sterilizing solution such as bleach.
A concern expressed by laboratory workers with the known drying rack systems having apertures formed in the drying rack is that liquid carrying the virus may pass through the apertures to the rear surface of the panel and collect on the back surface, free from the sterilizing spray to the front surface of the panel. The known drying rack systems make no provisions for the elimination of liquid or moisture which can collect on the rear surface of the drying rack.